X. THE SWEET SOUND OF
SOFT MELODIES

   KATHERINE Pierce wasn't dead, but selfishly, Ivy wished she was.

   If Katherine was dead, the agony of her loss would've hurt less, but the circumstances surrounding her disappearance were not as it seemed.

   Damon had spent over one hundred years waiting to be reunited with the woman he loved; only to learn that the entire time, she was walking the Earth at the same time he did.

  So, selfishly, Ivy wished that her former friend had not survived that night— to save Damon from the bitter sting of rejection he felt now.

It was wrong for her to feel that way— she knew it was, but she could only think about the betrayal her brother was facing by the woman he loved; who he thought had loved him.

   Over one hundred years' worth of yearning and love— tossed aside by the brutal truth that in all those years, Katherine never sought him out.

   Ivy never wanted to wish ill upon anyone, human or supernatural, but she couldn't deny the anger brewing within her at the deception of Katherine Pierce.

   Ivy may not be a vampire, but she would protect her brothers no matter the cost.

   PHONES were confusing.

This is why Stefan's cellphone he had lent Ivy was now sitting opposite of her in Stefan's bedroom; Ivy may have gotten startled by the noises and thrown it across the room again.

But if Stefan asked, Ivy had no idea how the phone ended up over there. If the phone could talk, then it could easily grow legs and walk away.

Right?

The phone was long forgotten by the youngest Salvatore— who was now using Stefan's books to press flowers she had gotten from the backyard.

Ivy knew she was supposed to be learning and practicing modern things, but she needed to comfort herself, even for just a moment.

There were a few small things that Ivy found comfort in, things that kept her grounded, even if they seemed unimportant to other people: for her, she found comfort in pressing flowers, tea, holding her locket, and a few other minuscule things.

So when the cellphone she was supposed to be learning how to use startled her, she needed to momentarily ground herself— to provide herself with comfort in something familiar.

And that was how she ended up with over twenty of Stefan's books scattered across his bedroom floor, flowers pressed between the pages of paper.

She hummed quietly under her breath, a melody she knew from her years of piano lessons. Her body went through the movements of pressing flowers fluidly, the actions coming to her as second nature; like it was completely natural to her.

Ivy had always loved music, specifically the piano. Something was charming about it all— it was simple yet complex at the same time.

Music was a form of universal language.

You didn't have to understand the lyrics, you only had to feel it.

With a grin, she shut the book, pushing it aside as she glanced at all of the books scattered on the ground.

She considered the mess an organized clutter; she was smart enough to assemble the books in a position that had a path leading to the bookcase and another to the door of Stefan's bedroom.

Reaching behind her to where she had the extra books and flowers ready, Ivy huffed when she realized she was out of flowers. Groaning, she pushed herself off the floor and began walking in the small path she created towards the door of the bedroom, planning to grab more flowers from outside.

Just as her fingers reached the doorknob, the door pushed open, causing her to jump back. Stefan's brows rose as he opened the door, eyeing his twin before his gaze shifted to the books laying on the ground.

"Aren't you supposed to be learning how to use a phone right now?"

Ivy crossed her arms over her chest defiantly, "We both know I don't do well with instructions."

Stefan chuckled, running his hands through his hair, "Speaking of, where is my phone?"

Sheepishly, Ivy pointed to the other side of the room where Stefan's phone lay abandoned near the wall, "Over there."

"Ivy,"

Before he had a chance to speak, Ivy had already begun rambling, "I'm sorry for hurting your phone again! I promise it was a reflex. I don't think I broke it. If I did, I would offer to repair or replace it, but I have an inkling that the currency has changed over the years. It started talking again!"

Stefan began walking through his room, carefully watching his step so he didn't trip over the books, "It's okay, Ivy. You can't hurt a phone, it doesn't exactly have feelings. It's not broken, just don't throw it again, okay? And I told you, it wasn't talking."

"Right," Ivy nodded to herself, "the phone was not talking. It was making noises from a recording, got it."

Tucking his phone into the safety of his pockets, Stefan eyed the books on the ground, "Pressing flowers?"

"I hope you don't mind. I should've asked before I made a mess with your books."

Stefan shook his head dismissively, "Don't worry about it."

Ivy rocked on her heels slightly, "Want to press some with me? I know you're probably busy, with modern things, or whatever it is you do now, but if you'd like, I'd be willing to share your books with you."

Stefan returned her coy smile, laughing to himself, "Wow, how generous of you."

Ivy shrugged with a grin, "Well, I do love to give to the less fortunate." She glanced back at the books with a frown, "We will need more flowers though. I'll be right back."

Stefan moved towards the door, "No, it's alright. I'll go grab some, you stay here."

Before Ivy could protest that she wanted to pick them, Stefan was already downstairs, causing her to frown at the door.

What is he hiding?

She pondered for a moment going downstairs anyways, purely because she was now very curious, but she decided to stay in the bedroom.

Humming the piano melody under her breath again, she jumped over the books till she reached Stefan's bed, grabbed a blanket, and hopped back to the middle of the room. She planted herself on the ground, wrapping herself in the blanket, leaving her arms out from under the blanket so she could still press the flowers.

   Her fingers tapped the wood floors as if a piano was resting beneath her fingertips— her body remembering the movements that had been embedded into her mind at a young age.

   So lost in the memory of the music she once enjoyed, she didn't hear Stefan coming up the stairs, standing in the doorway with a smile before he grasped her attention, pulling her from the soft melody in her head, "The Watchman?"

   Ivy peered up, pausing the movements of her fingers, "You remember?"

   Stefan's smile grew as he followed the path to the center of the room, placing a handful of flowers down, along with a cup of tea, pushing it towards Ivy whose eyes lit up at the sight of the teacup, "How could I forget? You played that song till the piano keys had indents."

   Ivy pulled the cup of tea into her grasp, hoarding it near her as though Stefan would try to take it back, "Father despised it, claimed it was too fast for a lady."

   Stefan took a seat across from her on the ground, grabbing a book from the stack Ivy had prepared, "If I remember correctly, you played it even more after that."

   Sipping on her tea, Ivy hid a grin behind the cup, "I might have. Would you look at that, your memory isn't too impaired from the hundreds of years, Steffie."

   Stefan groaned, "If you call me that one more time I will not press flowers with you."

   Ivy pouted sarcastically, "Whatever will I do?" She shrugged, taking another sip of her tea, "I think I can manage; I was left abandoned in a coffin inside a tomb for 145 years."

   "If you stay so—" Stefan trailed off, slowly starting to stand before Ivy halted him.

   "I am only messing with you, brother."

   Stefan plopped back down, grinning triumphantly. Ivy continued to pout, curling in on herself and the blanket wrapped around her.

   After a few seconds, Ivy finally broke the silence, "Why didn't you want me to go downstairs?"

   "What?"

   "Earlier. When I offered to get more flowers, you were out of the door before I could even finish my sentence. Is something wrong?"

   "It's nothing."

   "Stefan."

   Stefan looked up from the flowers, sighing as he recognized his sister's scolding tone, "It's Damon."

   "I've lived with him before, you know? Don't worry, I'm used to the muttonhead."

   "He's trying to get over Katherine," Stefan met Ivy's eye, "he's drinking."

   Oh.

   Ivy had never liked alcohol— it wasn't that she believed it to be inherently bad, but the men in her life who drank were not kind when under the influence.

   In some personalities, alcohol brought out favorable traits, but in others, like her father, alcohol called upon the evil that lurked within the dark and corrupted depths of the mind.

   Her father was already a horrid man, but when he drank, he became evil.

   Blinking quickly in an attempt to rid herself of the memories flashing in her mind, her fingers tightened around the teacup, one of her hands making way to her locket that was resting between her collarbones— bringing her back to reality.

   Damon is not father.

   Father is dead.

   I am safe here— Stefan is here.

   The silence lingered in the air until Ivy looked up from her tea, nodding her head, "Is he okay?"

   "He's not stable right now, but he will be."

   "Is there anything I can do?" Ivy set the cup down on the ground, "You know, to help?"

   Stefan's hands abandoned the flowers he was preparing to press, grabbing one of Ivy's in his grasp, "You being here is enough, okay?"

   "Alright."

   Releasing her hand, Stefan reached into his pocket, retrieving his horrid cellphone. Making a triumphant kind of noise, he clicked something on his phone, beaming as he set the phone down beside him.

   After a second or two, a gentle melody filled the air, the keys of a piano singing to them.

   The Watchman.

   Ivy grinned at him, reaching over to grab her own book and flowers; getting back into the fluid movement of pressing and preserving the petals.

   They continued that way until the song had replayed multiple times and they had yet again run out of flowers— leading Stefan to retrieve more and Ivy to select a new piano recording for them to listen to.

   We will be okay.

IVY had decided that her brothers needed to bond.

Their hugging session proved to be pointless as Damon continued to parade around their home, hurling insults at Stefan at every chance.

She contemplated locking them in a room together until they settled their differences, but realized they would most likely just rip the door off instead.

Somehow, she managed to herd both brothers into the kitchen, tying aprons around their waists before they had time to protest.

They were baking.

   She spent over an hour going through modern cookbooks in an attempt to find something easy for them to make, but decided to retrieve an older book with recipes more familiar to her.

   They were going to make an apple pie.

   Damon attempted to escape, resulting in Ivy swatting at him with a spatula, "If you wish to keep the hair on your head, get back to the counter."

   Damon stepped back cautiously, murmuring under his breath about how unfair it all was.

   Ivy stuck the spatula back into her apron pocket, "Wonderful. Now, you two are going to need to direct me. While I was good at baking before, I'm afraid some of the ingredients look a bit different now."

   "And if we don't?"

   Ivy glared sharply at Damon, "If you decide to be a jolterhead, then both your hair and beloved jacket will vanish, never to be seen again."

   Damon grumbled, adjusting his apron as Stefan laughed at his side. "Fine."

   "Now, we have to start with the dough."

   "We could've bought dough."

   Ivy whacked Damon on the side of the head, "Don't you recall, I was sleeping, sleeping right? Oh, I don't know what to call it." Ivy huffed out in frustration, pulling out ingredients from the cupboards, Stefan assisting her, "I was in that coffin for years, brother. Forgive me if I'm not up to date on the newest baking techniques. Goodness, this is supposed to be a bonding experience, yet I am wishing to be back in that tomb!"

   Damon grinned at her outburst, "See, I told you that you were old."

Reaching around Stefan, Ivy grabbed a handful of flour from the bowl he had set out, flinging it at Damon.

Giggling as the flour smacked against his cheek, Ivy placed her hands on her hips, "I feel much better now."

"Stop throwing things at me!"

"Or what?"

"Watch it, Bambi."

Ivy grinned innocently, grabbing another handful of flour and chucking it at Damon, this time hitting him square in the chest, "It slipped. Truly. My apologies, brother."

"I warned you," Damon darted towards the ingredients, rushed at Ivy, crushing an egg on her head.

Gasping, Ivy's hands shot up to the top of her head, fingers touching the egg yolk now splattered in her hair. She grabbed at the yolk, pushing it against Damon's face.

Her elder brother spun her around, picking her up and walking her towards the milk sitting out.

"Stefan, help!"

Coming to Ivy's aid, Stefan grabbed the bowl of flour, throwing a handful in Damon's face.

Ivy used Damon's coughing to her advantage, squirming out of his arms and towards the flour, throwing some at Stefan with a grin.

"Hey! I helped you, V!"

Ivy beamed, grimacing as she felt the egg trickle down her cheek, "So? I never declared you safe from my torment."

The egg Damon tossed hit Stefan in the torso, splattering across his apron as he dramatically fell to the ground, "I have been betrayed!"

Spinning on her heels, Ivy grabbed the milk, squealing and splashing some at Damon as he threw sugar at her.

Smirking as he picked up more eggs, Damon looked around at the mess they were creating, "Y'know Ivy, I like your idea of family bonding."

AFTER cleaning, showering, getting new clothes, and returning to the kitchen, the Salvatore siblings sat successfully at their dining room table, a warm apple pie placed in the center.

Beaming at her brothers, Ivy cut and served them their treat before taking her own and sitting down.

For a few seconds, the room was silent aside from the melodic sound of the piano flowing from the "speaker" Stefan had set up. Finally, Stefan looked up from his fork, eyeing his twin cautiously, "Hey, V?"

"Yes?"

"Would it be okay if we went out tonight? We will only be gone for a few hours at the most. Before we found you, we committed to something in town. I can stay if you don't want to be alone."

Ivy shook her head gently, swallowing her bite of pie, "I can manage being home by myself. I promise not to touch anything modern while alone."

"Are you sure?"

"I promise, Stefan."

"So, Bambi," Damon glanced up from his pie, almost finished with his dessert, "when're you going to meet the lovely Elena?"

Ivy peered at both of her brothers, her fingers making way from her fork to the base of her neck, wrapping around her locket, "Well, I am unsure."

"She's coming over tonight before we go into town. You can meet her then?"

Ivy's fingers tightened around the cool metal of her locket. "I don't mean to disappoint you, but I'm afraid I need more time. This is all too much."

Stefan eyed her hand that was clutching her locket, nodding in understanding, "Whenever you're ready."

Her fingers loosened.

"Thank you."

They resumed eating, once again the only sound lingering in the air was the soft tune of the piano keys, the melody one Ivy was familiar with.

It was a song she had played till her fingers wept when she was young.

Home, Sweet Home.

   WHEN Stefan returned home, it was quiet.

   Far too quiet.

   If Damon and Ivy were both home, especially Ivy, there was bound to be some sort of noise.

   Creeping into the study, Stefan noted Damon standing behind the couch, filling up a glass with bourbon. By the fireplace, a still body lay illuminated by the flames.

   Rushing towards the figure, Stefan's eyes widened as he realized it was Alaric Saltzman's body laying dead on their floor.

   Dead.

   Stefan's furious gaze clashed with Damon's, "What did you do?"

   Damon took a swig out of his glass, stumbling towards the couch, "Do what? He attacked me."

   "You killed him? Not only that, but you killed him with Ivy in the house!" Stefan suddenly began looking around, "Where is she? Damon, I swear if you," Stefan paused before raising his voice, "Ivy? Ivy? Where are you?"

   A few moments went by and Stefan was on his feet, rushing at Damon. Damon darted to the other side of the room, smirking as he twirled his glass, "All I did was tell him the truth. His wife didn't want him anymore. It's not my fault he couldn't handle it."

   "Like you've been handling Katherine?"

   "I'm handling it fine. You know what? Isobel came to me. She found me. And if she's related to Elena, that means she's related to Katherine. Maybe Katherine sent her to me."

   "Stop it. You don't have to keep looking. Damon, where is Ivy?"

   Damon ignored him, continuing to ramble, "Can't be a coincidence Isobel sought me out. Uh-uh. Can't," Damon gestured to Alaric's lifeless body, "I'm assuming you'll take care of this."

   "Damon! Where is she?"

   "I'm right here!"

   With a relieved breath, Stefan turned to the doorway, watching Ivy pad into the room, a blanket wrapped tightly around her small frame and a cup of tea in her hands.

   Lifting one of her hands, she rubbed at her eyes, "Is everything alright?"

   Damon took a long drink from his glass, not picking up on the look he received from his sister before he stumbled out of the room.

   "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to wake you up. I was worried." Stefan rushed the words out, relief flooding his features at the sight of his sister alive and well.

   "Why would you be," Ivy's voice trailed off as she moved further into the room, her eyes falling on the figure on the ground, "Oh!"

   She was at Alaric's side in seconds, setting her cup down beside him, her fingers pressing at his pulse point on his neck.

   There was no pulse.

   There was no pulse.

   Stefan's body laying on the dirt, his blood staining her dress and flesh, seeping beneath her fingernails.

   There was no pulse.

   Her brothers' bodies laying forgotten in the road, a bullet hole cutting through their once warm skin; the pure white color of their shirts stained and tainted with sickly burgundy blood.

   Stefan's voice pulled her out of her mind, "I'm so sorry, Ivy. I didn't think this would happen."

   Stefan fell defeated to the ground beside her, shaking his head to himself as he continued to stare at the lifeless form before them. Stefan's brows furrowed at something, moving so he could get a closer glance at whatever he saw.

   A gasp startled them.

   The man was awake!

   Stefan grasped his shoulders, "Alaric."

   The man looked around, moaning as he clutched at his chest, "What happened? What's going on?"

   "You were just," Stefan paused, sitting back, "Did Damon turn you?"

   "No. I, um, I went for him and then he, uh, he stabbed me."

   "No, no, no. You must have vampire blood in your system. Somebody slipped it to you."

   "No. It's, uh, it's something else."

   The twins watched the man flex his fingers, glancing at the ring on his finger with curiosity, Stefan spoke for them both, "Then how?"

  "I, um,"

   The man lingered momentarily, his eyes shifting to Ivy; who was now bundled in her blanket, the cup of tea back in her hands.

   Ivy smiled at the man, "Hello."

   "Hi?"

   Ivy looked around before extending her cup of tea towards him, "Tea?"

   "Um, no thanks?"

   Stefan gestured to Ivy with a nod of his head, "This is Ivy, she's my twin. Ivy, this is Alaric."

   The man pushed himself up to a sitting position, groaning as he rubbed at his temples, "Man, they're more of you?"

   "She's not a vampire."

   "Somehow, that's not comforting."

   Ivy watched the men talk, sitting back on her heels and letting her blanket pool around her. She took a sip of tea. "I don't intend to be rude, but how are you, you know, not dead?"

   The man, Alaric, held up his hand, showcasing the ring to the twins, "Isobel."

   Who?

________

qotd: least favorite popular tvdu
ship ? (this can include any show
within the tvd universe!)

i love writing ivy so much—
she's literally my child

i hope this wasn't boring !
i originally wrote ivy and elena meeting,
but it felt too soon. so i decided to
focus more on ivy adapting
and restoring their family.
i hope you enjoyed !

copyright © -loonylupins